Wasps Water and Windex

HRT is always looking for a low impact environmental solution to an environmental problem. We don’t want to destroy the forest while we’re trying to fix it.  Last August while we were cleaning out invasive alien plants, we got chased out by a hive of aggressive ground dwelling wasps as we entered their territory. They got in a few licks. We got stung.  We applied cold ice water bottles to the stings, which reduces the pain but we couldn’t finish the job.  We don’t want to kill them.  The wasps belong to the forest and it’s their home. Besides that, wasps prey on other insects and are part of Nature’s checks and balances.

Fortunately there is a way for HRT to go tramping through wasp territory, while removing the invasive plants without getting stung.  One of our team members had heard that a spray of Windex would deflect and disperse them.  The effect lasts for 15 or 20 minutes before the wasps return to their nest.  That gives us enough time to “cut and run”.  We bought some metal spray cans for six dollars appease, that could squeeze into a back pocket and be ready for a “quick draw” counter offence.

It’s a win-win situation.  The forest gets cleaned up (Windex) and the wasps keep their place in the grand scheme of things.  A search on the internet yielded the MSDS for Windex which documented its safety for just about everything (no surprise there).